Stalker murder girl, 15, failed by Met over boyfriend's death threats

"Collective failings": Arsema Dawit was knifed to death a month after going to police

Failings by the Met contributed to the murder of a 15-year-old girl by an ex-boyfriend who was stalking her, a report says today.

Arsema Dawit was stabbed 32 times in the lift of her block of flats in Waterloo by 21-year-old Thomas Nugesse in June 2008.

More than a month before Arsema, her mother and a cousin had gone to Kennington police station to report that he had assaulted her and threatened to kill her.

But the information was not passed on and a detective eventually assigned to the case failed to investigate in a "timely and effective" manner.

The Met is now facing legal action over its handling of the case and has already expressed its regret.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission strongly criticises the force over a series of "collective and organisational failings". Among the worst errors highlighted by the report was the failure of a station receptionist at Kennington to relay the information to a senior officer. The receptionist also failed to take mobile phones which could have been used as evidence or to take down contact details for Arsema's cousin.

In further powerful criticism of the way the Met operates, the IPCC warns about the "almost unmanageable volume of work" that some officers are responsible for, saying that "it creates cases falling through the net".

IPCC commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne said Arsema's death could not be directly blamed on police failures, but identified a succession of flaws in the way the case had been dealt with.

"This is an extremely tragic case," she said. "Tragically through omission, misunderstanding and assumption, the messages and information given by the family on the night of 30 April were not sufficiently acted upon."

Solicitor Esteddar MacGregor said: "The family are unhappy with the IPCC's report and critical of its finding. They feel let down. The family were hoping the report would look at the police conduct and involvement closely, and fully address all the issues and take proper action."

Speaking on behalf of Arsema's mother, Tsehaynesh Medihani, Ms MacGregor added: "Had the police carried out their duties, it is highly likely that Arsema would not have been murdered." Nugesse was ordered to be detained indefinitely in a secure mental hospital last year after he was found guilty of murder.

Met Commander Simon Bray said the force accepted its failings in the case and had already conducted a "critical review" which had led to the implementation of seven out of eight recommendations made to it by the IPCC. The final recommendation was in the process of being implemented.